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Safe and high quality bus rapid transit (BRT) for Brazil

The TransOeste bus rapid transit (BRT) system serves Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro is set to expand its BRT network in order to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Photo by Mariana Gil/EMBARQ Brazil.

Though they are huge metropolises, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, and Belo Horizonte have relatively little high capacity transit. Following the 2014 World Cup and looking forward to the 2016 Olympics, EMBARQ Brasil is working to support these cities via road safety auditing, engineering simulations, technical assistance, driver training, and planning for five BRT corridors that will cover 154 kilometers and safely carry over 2 million passengers per day.

In 2014, these three cities each launched a new BRT line or system—Rio the TransCarioca, Belo Horizonte the MOVE system, and Brasília the Expresso DF. So far, the launch of these new lines have cut commute times by 50% for the combined 1.5 million users, while reducing exposure to traffic crashes and air pollution. Due to the success of the initial 154 kilometers planned, the cities have committed to constructing an additional 210 kilometers of BRT.